AryM

Hi Jackson, My experience with Rotor has been nothing but good! I changed my Ultegra 53T to the Rotor 53/39 Set-up in August last year. I have been up by 15-20 watts on all workouts. Been using them ever since & I won't take them off. I feel much less fatigued with these and they work for me. I suggest 53/39 set up as it works as a 52 on the up stroke and a 54 on the down stroke or something like that! LOL I have someone excellent who set them up & I've never had any issues with the chain falling off. One of the best monies spent for me in my cycling journey so far. I ride 11spd Ultegra Di2 (11/28)

In the days preceding the race, I usually eat Pasta & Rice dishes. Pasta is perfect for Carbo loading. Aim for Carbs from Friday evening. Try & have your breakfast at least 2 hours before your start. Bowl of Oats, some Toast & Coffee will go a long way. Cereals are fine too. Banana's are a must. Try & sip on an energy drink before your start, staggered intervals, not too much, then you will run to the bush. Try and eat every 30-45 minutes after your start, a bite of an energy bar or a gel every 45 minutes should be ok. 5 hour ride would require some sort of Carb replacement. (Banana's, Energy bars, Biltong, baby potatoes or gums) Also, sip on your bottles every 15 minutes or so. PS - Don't eat anything your body is not use to. Don't try new products as well. Other than that, enjoy your race!

Start times & Bunches out on Racetec! AL for me

Yeah, I pointed him out a few times. Red/ White kit Will be DQ'd

Lots of factors to deal with: What gears are you riding? Ratio? What terrain were you riding? Road, Outdoor, Hilly, Flat, Undulating? But yes, don't stress about the data. If you feel comfortable, then go out & Ride. But high cadence generally ups your HR. There's a Sweet Spot to find the perfect balance between HR & Cadence. Everyone is different. Now go find yours...

Carnage is understatement when describing the race afterwards. Started in AL, saw the usual riders but quite a few Juniors mixed with us as well. Already from before the start, MC announced that a truck was stuck 3kms in...Just knew this day was going to be 1 of those days. Very nervous start, stayed top 20 till the 50km mark, then went to the front to rotate. Around the 30km mark, a rider completely lost it in front of me, front wheel went from under him & lucky someone shoved him into safety. Thanks bud, saved the bunch from a massive multiple crash! The rider behind me went up my left calf and got some battle scars for show but don't know how we managed to stay up. Saw that Kamakazi dude who went off-road, over & through the bushes heading for the barbed wire fence, we all cringed as he went closer & closer but Jeez, he managed to stay upright, missed that barbed wire by milimeters & seems he got back on the tar safely. Now this was not lekker at all, when we started approaching the Finish, there was at least 50-60 riders in the bunch. Speeds were going up, riders were changing lanes as the sprint was coming up. Those steel barricade barriers were fast approaching and I saw what the bottle neck was creating in this huge bunch, from my view, there was absolute no space at all for anyone to go through or change lines, slight miscalculation & Bam, MASSIVE CARNAGE. As I approached the barrier, about 100m before the finish line, we were all screaming, Hold your Lines, but a rider to the left of me moved to my shoulder so quick and the guy behind him touched wheels and flew into the barrier @ 65km/h plus. I just heard carbon braking, bits & pieces flying & saw the guy hit those barriers. Can't get that image out of my head! I'm sorry buddy! Please let us know if you are OK! I sat up, just rolled through to the finish thinking if all this is worth the trouble. Rika from Cycle Nation told me she couldn't even take pics of the finish because of the crashes. They heard the crashes from the line. VA, AL, BL, CL, some hectic crashes. Hope all involved are on the mend!

Feels so good seeing my name on Page 1 of results! (Albeit without the Elites/ Vets)

That sucks man! Go have a look at the new Adidad Evil eye and the new Rudy series. They all can do prescription lenses.

I have the Adidas Evil eye with my prescription insert. It has made my life so much easier... Also has low light lenses which you can change in a matter of seconds. My optometrist told me that now they can organise prescribed Lenses for the top level suppliers like Oakley, Rudy & Adidas. I'm in the process of getting a new set of riding glasses with tested lenses. PM me if you need more info... Will go with the Oakley Jawbreakers with tested Lenses...

Wowzers, Our club (Esmero Cycling) & associated clubs (New Horizons, Westgate Wheelers) use these routes quite often. That's terrible, hope everyone is OK.

Started in AL.. 24km turn to Walkerville Hill was pandemonium... Group broke into smitherines..... Managed to catch the back of the breakaway, but as soon as I latched, they surged on, toiled hard with a few guys (BestMed, Germiston Wheelers, Activize) to bridge & we got oh so close. Saw them just ahead for the next 50km but just couldn't bridge. Jeez, they were flying. Pushed myself over the limit & popped at 70kms cresting that drag to the left turn that felt like a HILL. Caught an elite lady from Clover who joined our group just before. That was it for me, Wind & Cramps till the end. Felt like the longest 30kms ever on a bike. Everytime I looked at my Garmin, I as cruising at 17-20km/h. Couldn't get the pace up. Lucky, a few more guys passed & I latched as best possible. Finished in 3:09. That was a #Sufferfest of note! Will be back to right this wrong. I was in the Blue/ Black/ White ESMERO kit with Blue/ Black Propel. Oh yes, deep sections were just wrong.

LOL @ Gerald! Anything between 2:50 - 2:55 for the leading group/main bunch Depending on Weather etc

Race Numbers & Groups out on email! AL 7:45

Seeding will be out Tuesday/ Wednesday probably before Number Collection. Lots of wind in the 2nd half of the race too... But still a fast race. See you all on Sunday.

I will be there. Looking forward to this race....

Seeding's have been sent by SMS earlier. Starting in AL Lets do this!

C'mon Champ! Fight through SON!...

Thanks Myles. My issue was with the standard Giant tyres that came with the bike as well. Conti's are much worse. Most road bikes come with 25mm now. This is a problem for the 2014/2015 Propel frames.

Complete Bike from the cycle shop!

Yeah, hard life lesson learnt, being nice doesn't help anymore! Thanks man!

You are correct Philip, it was clear that there is a factory frame issue with the brake/ hole fitment on the frame. Giant was adamant that it is not a possibility. Hence, they kept on sending me the components but didn't want to hear anything about the frame as they did not have 1 issue like this around the world. We tried 2 new brake calipers sets, also took them off some new Propels, but the same issue crept up in no time.

Tension, brake housing all 100% No issues there. Tried many different settings etc but issue kept on coming back. It was clear that the holes in my frame was too low for all the braking components, hence the issue of little or no clearance... It seems they have a longer brake component now in 2016 but after almost 18 months of nagging issues, I've had enough. I got no value for the money & time spent. As you can see from the pic, I've been more than patient.

Sorry bud, Updated

Hey Hubbers, I purchased my Giant Propel Advanced 0 ML frame in late 2014, they gave me a 2015 frame as I was close to year end. I was absolutely smitten obviously, it was a stunning looking bike & it rode awesome too. After 5/6 rides, I noticed my rear brake cable starting to unwind & break. A few more rides and it would've snapped. I went to my workshop where i purchased the bike from, and they replaced the cable with no issues. I thought the issue was maybe brakes being worn in or cable tightness etc. After a few more rides, the same issue crept up. The rear braking mechanism was too close to the wheel and any slight bump on the surface would really rub against the wheel. Within a few more rides, the same issue always kept on re-surfacing. New brake components were ordered & fitted after a long & trying explanation of the issue. A friend also bought the same frame & it was clear that my rear braking component was much lower than his with hardly any clearance between cable & tyre. Its even worse when I fit my racing wheels as they are 25mm. Then the issue flares up up quicker & shreds within a ride or 2. January to April is racing season, so, I hardly had time to leave the bike as they need at least a week for the Giant rep to come test and so forth. So, I just carried on, replacing cable after cable & tyre after tyre. I know, but pre-paid race entries cost a tad & didn't want to miss out. That was my 2015 year in a nutshell. After numerous attempts from Giant, they tried a new component early 2016, it appeared to be better but the issue started again. I finally left the bike with my shop & they got the Giant rep to come look at the frame. He agreed that this was an issue and frame was sent to Giant HQ in SA (Cape Town). Got a call from the manager, he said that a 2016 brake component will now fix the problem up 100%. Says it is now correct now & I will have no more issues... Why would a 2016 component make my bike right now? Why wasn't this fixed in 2015 when this issue was on-going? To be frank, I've had just about enough with the frame & problem. This was done & tested and it seems like I'm back to square one. This is my 3rd week without the bike and this is the answer I get. I've replaced the cable over 20 times, I've replaced the rear tyres about 7 times already. They changed components twice and I feel this is completely Unprofessional. These bikes are not cheap and I feel I've been more than patient. I want a new frame or my money back! Advice? Please? My rear Braking component: http://s33.postimg.org/4p60m8mlr/2015_11_16_PHOTO_00000047.jpg Normal Braking on the Propel Clearance: http://s33.postimg.org/exb7alca7/Propel_Brakes.jpg

Bad post nasal drip & flu 2 days ago... Over medicated with Anti-Histamines, Corenza C & ACC 200 Feel OK but I'm still heavily congested... Vicks to clear the muck by the weekend hopefully!